Amoy Diagnostics to Buy Into American DNA Sequencing Startup to Spur Growth

Tang Shihua

DATE : May 24 2018/SOURCE : Yicai

Amoy Diagnostics to Buy Into American DNA Sequencing Startup to Spur Growth

(Yicai Global) May 24 -- Amoy Diagnostics Co. plans to pay USD8 million to buy an almost 19-percent stake in American DNA sequencing startup Universal Sequencing Technology Corp. as it looks to enhance its core business and develop sustainably.

The Xiamen-based biomedical firm got the greenlight from the board and plans to pen a deal to buy newly-issued preferred shares in the target firm, the buyer said in a statement yesterday. The stake will grant Amoy the right to appoint a director at UST.

UST was founded in 2015 and focuses on researching and industrializing DNA sequencing, but has not yet begun mass production or sales in overseas markets. The deal will allow Amoy to exclusively distribute the target's products in Japan and Singapore and on the Chinese mainland, and it hopes it will also facilitate cooperation with innovative companies within China.

The statement did not describe the services and products UST offers, but the company's financial data shows it lost money last year and in the first quarter of 2018. The two firms are still negotiating to cement the finer details before putting pen to paper.